In Rat Cave, you play as an adventurer who is delving into a cave in order to defeat the giant Rat King. It's a simple premise for a simple game, but this is a prime example of a game that doesn't suffer much for its simplicity.

To play the game through takes maybe five minutes at the most; from a top-down perspective, you must avoid rats and bats, and wisely use your limited supply of crossbow bolts and bandages, in order to bring down the dread Rat King. Simple. However, the cave in which you roam is randomly generated each time, which makes for a somewhat repeatable gaming experience despite how simple it is. There's also a high score chart, but the maximum score is somewhat limited, so once you have a perfect game you kind of lose motivation. Still, you'll play it quite a few times, I think, before this happens, and it's quite a bit of fun to go back to, too.

Speaking of fun, a lot of it, in this case, is in the sound effects, I think. There's lots of creepy cave noise, and the addition of footstep noises was a nice suspenseful touch. Also, the Rat King Himself makes a nice horrible squealing noise whenever he approaches (and he does so quickly, which can be quite terrifying, to tell the truth). It's quite a suspenseful game, compounded by the player's slow movement.

The graphics are simple and pixelly (though not too convincingly so since they use a lot of 360-degree image rotation effects) and have a nice look to them even if they're not that special - I like the rats and the Rat King best. There are also some blood effects in there, if for some reason that bothers you.

In short, this is a simple but likable game with a silly yet somewhat suspenseful atmosphere, and while you won't ever play it for too long at once, you might find yourself loading it up every now and again.

With a simple presentation and addictive game play, this game would have easily gotten an 8 if it weren't for the lack of variety in level design and weapon selection. Fun for a few plays, but with only one type of level and objective, won't hold your attention for long.

Rat Cave is definitely a modern take on Hunt the Wumpus, in its style and simplicity. Knowing JTR, I wouldn't doubt that that is where he got his inspiration. This game might be short and simple, but it is a lot of fun.

All original material, including reviews, is the property of GameMakerGames.com. Games featured on this site are the property of their creators.